Retailers have to Right Size to remain competitive.

Like all industries over the last 5-7 years brick and mortar retailers have had to be very conscious of their size.  As we slowly emerge from the funk of the past retailers are still having to be extremely cognizant of their customers and the space needs to satisfy them.  The issue is many customers are using the brick and mortar store as a try it on for size location then going home and shopping online for the best price.  Amazon and their Amazon Prime option are putting more and more pressure on even the traditional safe stores who sell the necessities.  With the ability to order online at the lowest price and have the item/s delivered to your doorstep within 48 hours its hard to say that you wouldn't at least give it a run.  So what are retailers to do?  Do they not stock anything and do special orders, that won't work because the customer can do that online.  Would it be better to stock a huge supply and hope that the appeal of being able to touch and examine the product while having the instant gratification of taking it home will work.  The answer is yet to be determined but it is very clear that the real estate departments/ agents/ brokers working for retailers have their work cut out for them.  We have seen even mighty fall in the tough economic times.  What will happen next as spending rises and shoppers decide when and how they will purchase goods?  My guess would be that the specialty and service base store stick around and make mild profits while the rest struggle and eventually fade out.  Post your thoughts and or insights as to what you think will unfold next...